Questions and answers

Question reference: S6O-02903

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 December 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will reconsider its reported plans to downgrade the Wishaw Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

Question reference: S6W-23346

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 04 December 2023
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 13 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether the topic of any Barnett consequential funding arising from the UK Government's policy of 75% rates relief for retail, hospitality and leisure premises for 2023-24 has been discussed at the weekly meetings between the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Finance and senior finance officials, and, if so, when it was (a) first and (b) last discussed.

The consequentials associated with 75% non-domestic rates relief for retail, hospitality and leisure premises in England in 2023-24 were confirmed in the Autumn Statement on 17 November 2022.

All Barnett consequentials received as a result of the Autumn Statement are considered as a whole ahead of the Scottish Budget each year and are a vital part of Scottish Government’s funding position. Discussion of the funding position featured at all regular meetings between the Autumn Statement and the Scottish Budget 2023-24 which was announced on 15 December 2022. Similarly, discussions regarding the funding position for 2024-25 as a result of the Autumn Statement on 22 November 2023 continue ahead of the Scottish Budget which will be announced on 19 December 2023

Question reference: S6W-23352

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 13 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on compulsory redundancies being implemented by public bodies.

Question reference: S6W-23263

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 27 November 2023
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 12 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to prevent the closure of Turning Point 218 due to a lack of funding from Glasgow City Council, with the loss of eight residential beds for women with a criminal justice background and complex needs, including substance use, in light of reported concerns that this may result in lives being lost and skilled workers being made redundant during its declared public health emergency regarding substance-use-related deaths.

Decisions about the provision and commissioning of individual community justice services, including any re-tendering exercises, are a matter for local authorities based on local needs. The Scottish Government has continued to invest around £134 million in community justice services this year, including providing around £123 million to local authorities, and has not asked local authorities to reduce any specific funding within that.

We understand that Glasgow City Council are working closely with Turning Point Scotland to support those currently using the service. The Council has also provided reassurances that other relevant services and approaches are available to support people with similar needs following the anticipated closure of the service.

These include residential placements in addiction services, the trauma-informed Tomorrow’s Women Glasgow service and the use of women-only drug courts and problem-solving courts, and the Lilias Centre Community Custody Unit.

Question reference: S6W-23403

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 11 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Mental health and wellbeing: workforce action plan 2023-2025, whether it will provide an update on the implementation of the learning resources produced by the Children and Young People’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Joint Delivery Board.

The Children and Young People’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Joint Delivery Board, chaired by COSLA and Scottish Government produced a number of learning resources for the workforce to support children and young people’s mental health. All resources are hosted on the Digital Learning Map and will continue to be supported by NHS Education for Scotland (NES). These resources have been disseminated through key networks.

Further details on the work of the Board and links to the resources can be found in the report Children and Young People's Mental Health and Wellbeing Joint Delivery Board: final report - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Question reference: S6W-23265

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 27 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 11 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Food Standards Scotland report, Our Food 2022.

The Scottish Government welcomes Food Standards Scotland’s Our Food 2022 report and the wide ranging recommendations.

We are aware of workforce shortages, such as veterinarians and environmental health officers, and the fundamental role these have to safeguard animal health and welfare and the safety of food in Scotland. The Scottish Government continues to promote the role of veterinarians in public health. This includes through initiatives, such as the Scottish Veterinary Delivery Landscape Project which brings together public and private sector veterinary employers, academia and veterinary industry bodies. We have also set up the Environmental Health Policy Co-ordination Group to consider solutions to the EHO vacancies across Scotland and work with key stakeholders to gain further insight on this issue.

Furthermore, we are committed to protecting Scotland’s consumers and businesses through robust biosecurity controls. Since EU Exit, Scottish Government officials and Ministers have been engaged in discussions with the UK Government around the introduction of import controls, resulting in the recent publication of the Border Target Operating Model.

We will continue to work with Food Standards Scotland and other partners on the issues raised within the report.

Question reference: S6W-23398

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 11 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Mental health and wellbeing: workforce action plan 2023-2025, whether it will provide an update on the establishment of a Coming Home Implementation Peer Support Network.

The Scottish Government is working with Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) to develop the Coming Home Practitioner Peer Support Network and this will be launched in early 2024.

HIS will bring their sector expertise in strategic improvement to bring together professionals from a range of disciplines and agencies, as well as people with lived experience, to form a Practitioner Peer Support Network to learn and share best practice. The network will provide a space for local teams to learn from others who have implemented successful services and processes, for collaborative problem-solving and to pool resources such as staff or buildings.

This is a key step in our Coming Home programme of work, which aims to reduce delayed discharge and inappropriate out-of-area placements for people with learning disabilities and complex care needs.

Question reference: S6W-23405

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 11 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Mental health and wellbeing: workforce action plan 2023-2025, whether it will provide an update on its work in funding training to increase knowledge, skills and awareness of suicide prevention.

Our suicide prevention strategy Creating Hope Together, and our new Mental Health and Wellbeing Workforce Action Plan - both of which are joint publications with COSLA - have a strong and consistent focus on training across our workforce and our communities to enable people to better understand and support people affected by suicide.

Our learning approach on suicide prevention is captured within outcome 2 of the action plan which is that ‘Our communities have a clear understanding of suicide, risk factors and its prevention – so that people and organisations are more able to respond in helpful and informed ways when they, or others, need support’. This includes structured learning as well as awareness raising activities, such as through the social movement and public campaigns.

On formal learning, the Scottish Government is funding the continued development of suicide prevention resources as well as funding delivery of learning in targeted settings, where the workforce supports groups with a higher risk of suicide. This includes health and social care, education, third sector working in local communities, and emergency services. The suicide prevention training programmes include trainer led safeTALK and ASIST as well as a suite of Ask Tell Respond self-led online and facilitated learning, and we are continuing to increase the capacity of trainers to deliver these resources across Scotland.

We are committed to ensuring our learning resources and approach achieves maximum impact in reducing suicide in Scotland. We are using the evidence from the ongoing review of learning we are carrying out with Public Health Scotland to inform future plans.

The priority we give to suicide prevention learning is demonstrated through our consistent funding over a number of years. In the current financial year (2023-24) we are providing funding of £414,000 to Public Health Scotland and our third sector partner, Scottish Action for Mental Health, to deliver Outcome 2 of the Creating Hope Together Action Plan.

Question reference: S6W-23399

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 11 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Mental health and wellbeing: workforce action plan 2023-2025, what work it is doing to create a single source of data for the mental health and wellbeing workforce in Scotland.

In the recently published Mental Health and Wellbeing Workforce Action Plan, we committed to build on the work currently being undertaken as part of the Health and Social Care (HSC) Workforce Strategy to improve mental health and wellbeing workforce data, including on equalities.

Through our engagement on the Action Plan, we identified the need for improved comprehensive workforce data at national, regional, and service levels on the mental health and wellbeing workforce in order to enable planning of support and services. This includes addressing issues raised around access to workforce data, inconsistency, and accuracy of current workforce, as well as the need to better understand all roles within workforce.

We are continuing to support the timely reporting of workforce and trainee data for existing systems through our ongoing and constructive engagement with NHS Education for Scotland (NES), Health Improvement Scotland (HIS), Public Health Scotland (PHS), Health Boards and also with service leads directly on data improvement for existing systems.

This supports the future development and publication of Scotland’s first Mental Health and Wellbeing workforce technical document. As part of a phased approach, this will initially focus on the core workforce. We are now working with key partners to take this forward, with publication committed as a medium term timescale for delivery within the Workforce Action Plan.

Question reference: S6W-23402

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 11 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Mental health and wellbeing: workforce action plan 2023-2025, whether it will provide an update on the work of the Mental Health and Wellbeing Workforce Education and Training Advisory Group.

The Mental Health and Wellbeing Workforce Education and Training Strategic Advisory Group brings together senior leaders from key sectors and organisations to support a whole system approach to meet the ambitions of the Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy.

The group has held two meetings since it was established, which focused on initially on the development of the recently published Mental Health and Wellbeing Workforce Action Plan. The next meeting is due to take place on 11 January 2024 at which the group will consider the programme of work for implementing the education and training aspects of the Strategy’s Delivery Plan and Workforce Action Plan.

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